Sachsenross

The Saxon Steed—known in German as the Sachsenross, Niedersachsenross, Welfenross, or Westfalenpferd, and in Dutch as the Twentse Ros, Saksische ros, or Saksische paard, and in Low German as the Witte Peerd—is a heraldic symbol tied to the German regions of Lower Saxony and Westphalia, as well as the Dutch area of Twente. The horse first appears as a heraldic charge in the late 1300s, when it was already described as an "old Saxon" motif. This led to centuries of speculation that it was an ancient tribal emblem of the Saxons.

A tradition recorded in 1492 claims that the 8th-century Saxon leader Widukind used a black horse as his field sign. Historian James Lloyd argues the motif was invented in the 14th century as a fake ancient symbol for the Saxons, based on Gobelinus's account of the Hengist and Horsa myth in Britain. The House of Welf, originally using a golden lion on red, later adopted the horse.

It also appeared in several Westphalian provinces, earning names like Westfalenross and Welfenross. Subsequently, it became the heraldic animal of the Kingdom of Hanover (after 1866, the Prussian Province of Hanover), the Prussian Province of Westphalia, and the Free State of Brunswick from 1922 until 1935, when Nazi Germany banned state flags. This tradition continues in two modern German states: Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia.

Coat of arms of Lower Saxony

After World War II, on 23 August 1946, the Province of Hanover became an independent state and readopted the steed as its coat of arms. Brunswick, also independent, had done the same on 8 July 1946. When these two states merged with Oldenburg and Schaumburg-Lippe to form Lower Saxony, the Saxon Steed became the new state's coat of arms—first unofficially, then officially. The steed also appears in one of the three sections of North Rhine-Westphalia's coat of arms, representing Westphalia.

Official sign of Dutch Twente region

In 1714, the House of Hanover entered a personal union with the United Kingdom, so the Saxon Steed appears in the British royal arms during the Hanoverian period. In the Dutch region of Twente, local language and culture enthusiast J.J. van Deinse designed a common flag in the 1920s to express Saxon heritage. Twente borders Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, and its local language, Tweants, is considered a Westphalian Low Saxon dialect, known within the Netherlands as a conservative variety.